Hannah's Story
by Jefferson Author
Summary: Hannah is a sweet normal girl- not at all the type of girl for the BAU. She's good at her job though. Very good. So when the profiler has been kidnapped, can she get away before it's too late? And if she does, what consequences will she face? Rated T just in case.
1. The Escape

Chapter One: The Escape

Hey guys. This is the updated and new first chapter of 'Hannah's Story' I re-read the last one and… YIKES. Why didn't y'all point out the mistakes?! It's okay, you're forgiven. Well, here we go. Enjoy ;)

HANNAH:

Each breath became more painful. The thick lazy fog that hung in the burned my lungs and throat, suffocating me each time I tried to scream for help. The fog breathed an overwhelming haze, making it impossible to see more than three feet ahead of me. Each step was blind.  
>I wanted to give up but there were people waiting for me. People I cared about, people I wanted to see one last time. I would not be another one of his victims.<br>"Times a ticking Hannah. Times a ticking." His voice was sickeningly sweet over the intercom, almost as if my life meant nothing and this was all a game. This was_ not_ a game.  
>"Let me out you <em>bastard!<em> Let me OUT!" I shouted before erupting into a fit of coughs.  
>"Now you know I can't do that, but I am rooting for you Hannah. Tick tock. Remember, tick tock." The intercom clicked off and I fell to my knees.<br>"Please!" I choked out helpless. I knew my death was likely. We had been on to this guy for weeks now and no one survived him.  
>I was going to die.<br>'No,' I thought to myself. 'No you're not.' I forced myself to my feet and turned the corner. Down the hallway, I saw the last thing I wanted to see. There was a red light shining clear as day through the fog. The red light I was told signaled my death. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. There was nothing for me to do but crawl toward my death and face the fact that I would never see Aaron or the rest of the team ever again.  
>But still, as I crawled near the light, I found hope. The light was a part of a sign. The sign read "EXIT" Laughing, I shoved the door open and bathed in the sunlight that poured in along with the fresh air.<br>"Not today you bastard." I called down the hall, even though he couldn't hear me. "Not ever."  
>I knew I would never make it to the precinct where my fellow team mates were, but as long as I made it to a crowd I would be fine.<br>I stumbled around the street corner. "Help! Someone please help!" I cried and a kind man caught me before I collapsed. "Call the police." I coughed. "Tell them I escaped. Tell them Special Agent Hannah James escaped."


	2. The Moments After

**A/N: Okay so I don't know if any of you noticed, but chapter one was completely changed. If you didn't re-read that, you might want to or else none of this is going to make sense. So I hope you did! Here's chapter two!**

**Chapter Two: The Moments After**

HANNAH:

The most critical moments when someone have been through a trauma are the moments right after its happened. Most people don't know that.

So much can happen in those moments. Rose Kennedy once said "It has been said that time heals all wounds. I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but is never gone." I don't think she knew just how right she was.

That's sort of what happens in those moments. Our minds cover the memoires and distort them to make them tolerable. That isn't the difficult part of traumas.

The difficult part is when those suppressed memories have to be recovered. It only creates more pain for the victim that went through it in the first place.

So whoever is gathering the information needs to get to that victim right after they're found. It's a horrible process and doesn't normally end too well, but it's something that has to happen.

"Sweetheart, I need you to tell me your name okay? Can you do that?" I nodded as the EMT shined her light into my eyes.

"Hannah James." I rasped out.

"Good. Now can you tell me where you work?" The woman smiled and put her flashlight away. She has short blonde hair and kind blue eyes. I recognized her from somewhere, I just couldn't place where.

"BAU Headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. My supervisor is Aaron Hotchner. The boss above him is Erin Strauss." The EMT smiled.

"Very good. Now I need to know if you're in pain. Does anything hurt?" I shook my head. "Wonderful. We're almost at the hospital and a doctor is going to check out your head. You might have a nasty concussion."

"Is Aaron- my team-" She put a hand up to stop me.

"They're waiting for you at the hospital. There was a red haired woman that insisted upon riding with you, but a _beautiful_ man stopped her." I laughed.

"Penelope and Derek." She smiled at me as we rolled into the EMT bay and came to a stop. The doors opened and the woman stepped out.

"Okay Hannah, there's going to be a bump and then one more, so just lay still okay?"

"Got it." I replied and did as said. "Hey, you're familiar. Where do I know you from?" I asked when the EMT took her place back beside me.

"I brought in the last girl. The one who died on arrival. You're very lucky Hannah. You sustained minimal injury and you have almost no symptoms of shock. That's a miracle." I knew she was right, but I couldn't help but feel like it wasn't fair. Some of the girls this guy took… They were good kids. They didn't deserve what happened to them.

I was greeted by seven concerned faces as I was rolled into the ER and placed on a hospital bed.

"Hannah!" Penelope rushed forward with the rest of the team right behind her. She clutched onto me and I hugged her back. "Oh my God, I was so worried! I thought you were going to die! How did you get out?"

"Honestly Pen, I have no idea. I got lucky." I shrugged. "I don't think he planned on me dying." I admitted. "He kept telling me he wanted me to survive." Aaron came over after talking to the EMT and only heard the last part.

"That's not like him." I nodded. "You were special to him."

"Aaron- don't ever say that again." My voice cracked and he nodded. "The EMTs said I should be fine. A doctor is supposed to come and check me over. He'll determine where I go next." I said changing the subject before anything should be said.

"Hi Ms. James. I'm Doctor Robinson and I'll be doing your exam today." A kind looking gentleman came over and I smiled. "Are these your family members?" I shook my head.

"No, they're my coworkers." I looked over at them. "Guys, I love you dearly, but you can't be in here." They laughed and stepped back behind the curtain that separated me from the rest of the hospital. Once the curtain slid back shut, I fell apart. I knew they were worried about me and I didn't want to worry them anymore.

"Hannah." I looked at Dr. Robinson to see another face that was concerned. "If there's something you remember and you haven't said anything about it, now is the time to tell me." I shook my head. "Hannah." I wiped away a tear.

"I'm okay. It's just hard." He nodded. "I can go ahead and tell you there shouldn't be any major physical damage. The only thing the EMTs were worried about was a concussion." He did the work up and re-opened the curtain for my team to come back in.

"She's strong." He said to the group. "She doesn't have anything that needs attention, maybe a couple bruises. You can take her home today, but I don't suggest she be alone for a while. Is there any place she can stay or..?"

"She'll stay at my place." Penelope called before anyone else could. "She's mine, I called it." I laughed and squeezed her hand.

"Thanks Pen."

"Okay, then she's good to go." He handed me the discharge papers and I signed, along with Aaron who is listen as my emergency contact.

Aaron and I go way back. Not many people know that, but it's true. Aaron's sister Julie was my best friend in the sixth grade, so I was around quite a bit. My family never had much money and most people around school knew it. I got picked on a lot and Aaron was always the first one to step in. After a while, people just… stopped. Then when I was a senior in high school, Julie got in a car wreck. She was dead on impact. It wasn't her fault, she wasn't drunk or anything. It was just an accident and it killed her. Actually, it killed her and the other driver. It almost killed Aaron. We became each others support systems. He's only a couple years older than me. When I was a senior, he was a junior in college. He's thirty two now, I'm twenty eight.

Aaron turned in the papers and a nurse rolled a wheel chair over for me. Even though nothing was wrong with me other than maybe some bruises and the possibility of PTSD, it was hospital policy that every patient be wheeled out. I did not accept this quietly.

"This is ridiculous." I muttered as Reid rolled me through the doors. "I'm fine." He laughed behind me and kept pushing me around.  
>"Hannah, no you're not." I rolled my eyes. "You went through a trauma." He spun he towards him as the rest of the team went to their cars. It had been decided I would ride with him and Derek. "A known serial killer broke into your apartment and forced you to run through a maze to win your <em>life.<em> Did you really think we wouldn't be able to tell you're terrified?" He asked and when I didn't look at him he gently moved into my line of sight. "We profile people for a living Hannah. You profile people for a living. We knew you were scared the moment we saw you." I looked into his deep brown eyes and nodded in understanding.

"I know. I just didn't want to worry you guys." He smiled and spun me back towards the car.

"That is not possible."

AARON:

Hannah kept saying she was fine, but I knew otherwise, as did the rest of the team.

"Does she really think we're that stupid?" Emily asked for beside me as we rode back to the police precinct where we would take Hannah's statement and look over the case once more. "We do this for a living. We've all been in a position similar- Spencer with Tobias, Garcia with the hero homicide case, myself with Doyle…. There have been others… We could help her." I noticed she specifically didn't mention my own run in with an unsub. George Foyet. I remembered the dad Hannah came to see me for the first time like it was yesterday.

_FLASHBACK:_

I woke to the sound of soft crying and the feeling of a small hand in mine. My eyes fluttered open and I looked over to the owner of the hand.

Hannah.

She had her hand wrapped so tight around mine her knuckles were white. I could see her small frame shaking as she cried and she kept her face buried in the side of the mattress. It took more energy that I had and caused a hell of a lot of pain, but I moved my other arm across my body and placed it on her head. "Hannah." I rasped. She looked up and gasped.

"Aaron!" A fresh wave of tears sprang in her ice blue eyes, but from the smile on her face I could tell they were happy tears. "You almost- you could've-" She threw her arms around my shoulders and sobbed again. "I swear to God if you die and leave me too, I'll resurrect you just to kill you again, do you understand?" I nodded and hugged her back as best as I could.

"You look like hell." I muttered into her hair. She pulled back and laughed. She had black streaks running down her face from where she had cried, making her mascara run. Her hair clearly hadn't been washed in a while and her clothes were wrinkled. They were also the same ones she had on two days ago when I saw her last. "Have you been sleeping?" I asked once I saw the bags under her eyes.

"A bit. I just slept in a chair." I looked over and saw a pillow and blanket sitting in one of the chairs by the wall. "I jacked one of your pillows." I laughed. "Oh and you don't look to hot either." I smiled weakly and she stepped out to call the rest of the team. "Hey Spence, it's me. He's awake."

END FLASHBACK

"Prentiss, she knows, she just isn't thinking. Give it a bit. When she's ready she'll talk." I reminded her. "No one wants to admit something's wrong or that they're scared. Besides- she's staying with Garcia. Do you really think that woman won't be harassed until it's out of her?" She chuckled in response.

"I'm just worried about her." I nodded, serious again.

"Me too."

** A/N: Okay so that's the end of that chapter! I'm not sure if it's going to stay only in Hotch and Hannah or if I'll expand it, but when I decide… well. You'll know wont you? Anyways, read and review and if you like this then take the time to go and check out my other pieces! **


	3. Wake Up

**A/N: I got one whole review! Whoo! Okay, enough of that… Hey let's try for two reviews this time! Here's Chapter Three!**

**Chapter Three: **

HANNAH:

As tired as I was, I was actually grateful to get back to the precinct and get back to work. I was thinking if I jumped back into work and focused on the case and catching the bastard who kidnapped me. Turns out that's harder than I thought.

I sat at the one of the desks I was using and review my own case file, along with others. Somewhere in the room, someone kept clicking their pen. _Click. Click. Click._ It was unremitting and it was making my head pound. I stood up suddenly, drawing concerned looks from my team. "Sorry." I muttered. "I just need some air." I quickly walked out of the room, taking deep calming breaths. Even in the hall, the clicking continued. I opened my eyes and kept seeing spots, almost as if I had a light being shined in my eyes over and over again. I closed my eyes, trying to make it stop. I heard the door open, then foot steps behind me. A hand on my shoulder made me jump, turning towards the new person, very tense.

"Hannah." Aaron. "Hannah." He said again and I opened my eyes, meeting his deep brown ones. "Hannah, are you okay?" I nodded. "Hannah?" His voice turned questioning, confusing me. What did he understand about a nod? "Hannah you need to wake up." Wake up? What was he talking about?

"Aaron I am awake." I said and touched his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

"Please wake up." He said, sounding horribly upset, almost like he was crying. "Come on, Hans. You need to be okay." I was fine, I was right in front of his. "We need you." Who? I looked through the window into the office, but no one seemed to notice what was happening. "Hannah,_ I_ need you."

What the hell was happening? The clicking had stopped, but I suddenly felt very tired. "Aaron." I said breathlessly, unable to catch my breath. There was an unbelievable shock of pain starting in my chest and slowly spreading through my limbs. "Aaron what's happening?" The pain in my chest grew stronger, and my legs collapsed. My vision was slowly becoming fuzzy around the edges, and as the pain shocked me once again, I screamed, then the world went dark.

AARON:

"Her brain is healing." The doctor said to me as he checked Hannah's eyes for a pupil response. "She's doing well, but you have to give it time." He wrote something on the clipboard he had her chart on, then clicked the flashlight off and tucked it into his lab coat. "She's stable right now, that's the best we can say. She's stable and her brain is responsive. She's been through a trauma and she needs time to heal." He was saying, but I wasn't listening. I know she's been through a trauma. I know she's healing, but that doesn't mean I don't worry.

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" Garcia asked from the corner of the room she was sitting in. The whole team had arrived, convinced she would be awake today. Spencer was drinking too much coffee, Emily kept biting her nails, Derek was pacing and JJ kept leaving the room, trying to keep herself from crying. Dave hadn't stopped by in a couple of days.

"She may not be ready." The doctor answered, and left without another word on the subject.

"Please wake up." I whispered to Hannah, who was lying motionless on a hospital bed. We found her in that abandoned hospital, lying there, unconscious. It had been two and a half weeks, and she still hadn't woken up. The doctors said it should be any day, but that was last week and nothing had happened. I didn't know what I would do if she- if she didn't… I shut the thought down. She didn't give up on me when I was lying in a hospital bed; I wasn't going to give up on her. "Come on Hans," I muttered, using Matt's old nickname for her.

Matthew, Hannah's older brother, was in the Navy. Right now, he was stationed overseas on a Japanese naval base. He had no idea what was happening to his little sister. If he couldn't be there, I would. Matthew had been my best friend in high school, so I spent a lot of time at the house and around Hannah. Then, in the sixth grade, Hannah met my sister Julie. They were instant friends; they spent every waking moment together. Hannah became family. "You need to be okay." I said, sliding my hand into hers. Her senior year, Julie had gotten into a bad car accident. All of us had. Julie had been driving, with Hannah and me as her passengers. We were driving around the town my college campus was in, just goofing off on a day I was free and they were out of school. I let her drive, knowing our parents rarely did, and she was a good driver, so I figured why not?

It's normally a safe place to drive around, not much happened. There were parties, yes, but none I knew of that weekend. If I had known there was a frat party two blocks from where we were, I never would have let her drive around so late at night. We were turning a corner to head back to the campus when the other car slammed into us. Julie's side of the car took most of the impact, and it killed her instantly. The doctors said she suffered minimally, if any. When the car hit, her spinal cord was severed, paralyzing her from the neck down. She couldn't breathe on her own, and within minutes, she died. She was scared, and probably in pain, but she died quickly, and for that I was grateful. Hannah and I, on the other hand, suffered.

Hannah was sitting behind me in the car, so she took only a small part of the impact. Her seatbelt wasn't buckled though, so she was thrown around quite a bit. If she had been sitting in front or in the middle, she would have gon through the windshield and most likely died. When the car skid to a stop, I saw Julie lying there, unresponsive. Somehow, I managed to drag myself out the vehicle and over to the driver's side, where I pulled Julie out and lay her on the road, a ways away from the scene. I took her pulse, and my stomach dropped. My heart broke, and I sobbed. There was no pulse. "Julie." I cried, praying it wasn't true. "Jules, come on. Wake up." I shook her shoulders desperately, begging for something, anything to be different, but deep down I knew it wasn't possible. "Julie!" I shouted again. I took her pulse one last time before looking back at the wreckage. Then, slowly, I pulled myself off the ground and limped back to the car, coughing and sputtering, trying to make sense of what had happened. A car came out of nowhere. A car came out of nowhere and killed my sister, and possibly her best friend, someone who was also family.

_Hannah_. The thought shocked me enough to try and move again. I wretched the back door open and saw Hannah lying in the back seat with her eyes closed, and I panicked. Not her too, she couldn't be gone too. I knew she hadn't had her seatbelt on, so I wasn't sure what all had happened to her body. When I slid her out of the car and into my arms, she seemed so small and childlike. She seemed… fragile. I laid her down on the road and watched closely for the steady rise and fall of her chest to tell me she was alive, to let me know she was okay. Then, it seemed to take hours, but then I saw it. It was faint, and it was undeniably shaky, but it was there. She took a breath. This time, I sobbed in relief. I heard sirens in the distance and hoped they were coming for us. I looked around for the first time and noticed a crowd forming, most of the onlookers were horrified. I looked around for the other driver, but I couldn't see anything. By the time the ambulances had arrived, the adrenaline had worn off and I was starting to feel my injuries. I was hurt, and hurt bad.

The thought of Julie's accident reminded me of the way I had needed Hannah through everything. How I still needed her now, how we all did. Whether or not she knew it, the whole team needed Hannah to make it through this. There was no way any of us would make it without her here. She kept us together, she was our glue. She always had been. "We need you." I said, hoping maybe she would hear me and wake up. "Hannah,_ I_ need you." I whispered, quiet enough so the team couldn't hear, and let the tears that had been welling up fall. I needed her more than I would ever admit. She had been through everything with me, from Julie's death until Haley's. Every step of the way she had been there, and I wasn't ready to let go of her.

I was still holding her hand when it happened. Her finger twitched, still entwined in mine. Then, it was slow, agonizingly slow, her whole hand began to move in mine. "Did you see that?" Reid exclaimed, the hurried to the other side of the bed. "You guys, her hand moved. Her whole hand moved!" Suddenly, everyone was up and surrounding her, trying to get her to move again. Everyone was talking, but I said nothing. I said nothing and waited for her to come back to us. I felt her hand move again, bringing on a whole new wave of excitement and joy, but I still said nothing. I watched her face, waiting for anything. Her eyelids began to flutter, but they didn't open, not yet. So, testing if it was a fluke, I squeezed her hand. To my surprise, she squeezed back.

"Everyone be quiet." I said, and they complied when they saw the look on my face. "Hannah?" I said and her eyes fluttered again. "Hannah, can you hear me?" I asked, and her eyes opened.

HANNAH:

"Hannah, can you hear me?" _'Yes!'_ I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. It took every ounce of strength just to open my eyes. Responding was out of the question. "Doctor!" Aaron called out the door, sounding relieved, but also very confused. When no one responded, he stood from his place beside me and quickly walked to the hallway. "Dr. Highland." He said with intensity in his voice I rarely heard associated with anyone except Jack and Haley. "She's awake." A group of people rushed in the room. Doctors, nurses, interns, everyone.

"Hannah?" The clicking of a pen light I had experienced in my dream began again. "Hannah, it's nice to see your eyes." The man clicking the pen smiled. "They've been closed for quite some time." I looked around, very confused. How long? It felt like moments to me, but how long had I really been gone- how long had I been… asleep? The doctor turned to one of the nurses. "We need to get something in her. Maybe now that she's awake she can come off a feeding tube." I hadn't noticed it before, but he was right. I was connected to various tubes and wires. It wasn't that I was exhausted, that wasn't why I couldn't talk. I had tubes everywhere, even in my body. Not only did I have an IV, but I had a blood infusion tube in my arm, a feeding tube down my throat and many more tubes. I couldn't tell you what they did. Quite a few people left, mostly interns from what I could tell. A couple nurses, but the main doctors stayed. "Hannah, you've been asleep in a coma like state for two week and a half weeks. You weren't awake, but you weren't asleep either. You've been on a feeding tube and had to have a couple blood transfusions. It was rough for a bit, but you made it through." He smiled a warm smile before turning to my team and muttering something. "Okay Hannah, we're going to get that tube out of you okay?" He turned to the team and nodded their dismissal. Aaron looked at me once, seeming very detached and cold before leaving the room. Confusion washed over me, but I couldn't focus on that now. JJ followed suit, then Reid, then Morgan and so on. One by one my team left me alone in the room. The doctor turned back to me and pushed the button on the remote for my bed. He reclined me as much as he could, then stopped. "Hannah, I need you to sit up straight. Perfectly straight, or else this will be extremely uncomfortable." I nodded, and then forced myself into a sitting position. He moved closer to me and put one hand on my chin, tilting my head back slightly. He removed the piece of tape that held the tube to my face, then placed gentle traction on the tube to begin the removal process. I could feel every second of it, but it wasn't painful, just a bit uncomfortable. Just before the tube was completely out, he paused. "Take a couple deep breaths okay?" I nodded and did as told. "Okay. This next part is going to make you gag a bit because the tube is going to touch your pharynx. It'll only last a second." He still didn't move. "Tell me when you're ready." I took a deep breath and nodded. He placed his hands back on the tube and quickly pulled it out and through my nose. He was most definitely right. I started retching and gagging, feeling like I was going to throw up, but at the same time I felt a bit relieved. Having that tube in my throat felt like someone was violating my body, violating my personal space. But another thing he was right about, was that it would only last a moment. I stopped gagging and was able to take a few deep breaths. I felt better. Still not good, but better.

"Thank you." I rasped. He nodded. "Where did my team- where did my _family _go?" I asked, needing the comfort that I associated with my team. They were there for everything, always.

"They're just in the hall." He said, trying to soothe my nerves. "I'll get them okay?" I nodded and lay back against the bed, feeling faint.

"Hannah?" Penelope Garcia. The glue that keeps us all together. I smiled as the woman with the fiery red hair sat down in the chair that once had Aaron in it. "Oh thank God." She sobbed and I smiled. "I swear on the sweet baby Jesus himself if you ever terrify me like that again I'll-" I held her hand and squeezed, silencing her.

"Sh.." I muttered and smiled. "I'm okay." I whispered and looked around at everyone. JJ, who always sat and listened to me and my stupid problems. Reid, who always showed me new books to read and riddles to solve. Always had to question my intelligence. Derek, who forever protected me. Always treated me like I was his little sister and never let me feel… insecure. I never did- not until recently. Rossi, who continued to try to best me in chess, though he knew Reid and I were the best on the team. I only got so good because of Reid. It was funny, how well he and I had connected once I joined the team. He… He almost reminded me of Julie. Then we come around to Aaron 'Hotch' Hotchner. Derek was the big brother to everyone, even me, but Aaron… He was my family. Always has been, always will be.

I smiled once more, tears welling up in my eyes. "I'm okay."

**A/N: That's chapter three! Okay, so leave your reviews and favorite and follow and what not. Let me know what you'd like to have done with this or where you would like it to go, I'm always open to suggestion! Enjoy!**


	4. Recoveries and Realizations

**A/N: Alright, the last chapter got me a bunch of favorites and follows, which are awesome, but I would love some reviews. That's pretty much my only thing, so yeah! Here's Chapter Four!**

**Chapter Four:**

AARON:

"Aaron, please let me come home." Hannah begged over the phone, sounding so broken. "I can't be in here anymore." My hand was so tense around the phone, my knuckles had turned white. I hated hearing her like this.

"Hannah," I sighed, and ran a hand over my face. "You know that's not possible right now-" I started, but she stopped me.

"Aaron I'm unhappy." She said, crying. "I keep having these horrible nightmares where I'm back in that hospital and I wake up screaming because it's like _I never left_! Then all the idiots in here do is pump me full of drugs that put me to sleep, only to have me have the same dream!" I could hear her trying to stop crying, and I knew it was hard. She was so frustrated with herself for not being okay, for still being so weak. "_I want to come home!_" She said again.

"Hannah, let me talk to the doctors. I'll see what can be done, but last time I was there, they said you were still too weak." I reminded her, beating myself up a bit. She was miserable, I knew, but it was too dangerous for her to be anywhere but the hospital. It was never intended for her to die, that we had profiled, but this guy had switched things up before. No one was sure what he would do next. "Hans, he's still out there. It's not safe for you to come home."

"Daddy?" I looked over my shoulder and saw Jack standing in the kitchen doorway, rubbing his eyes. I had put him to bed just before calling Hannah.

"Hey buddy. What are you doing up?" I asked, moving the phone away from my ear.

"I couldn't sleep. Who's on the phone?" He asked, padding towards me and crawling on my lap. "Is it Hannah?" He asked. "Can I talk to her?" I nodded.

"Yeah bud, I'll ask. Hannah may not be feeling good. Hold on okay?" He nodded and waited patiently. "Hans, Jack wants to talk to you. Are you up for that?" I heard some rustling, then Hannah was back.

"Yeah." It was still full of tears, but she cleared her throat and tried again. "Yeah." She said, sounding much more confident. "Give him the phone."

HANNAH:

I wanted to be mad at Aaron for not getting me out sooner, but I wasn't. I know he was only trying to protect me. I was being really harsh on him and that wasn't fair. I wasn't angry with him. Truthfully, I was angry with myself. I was mad for not being better by now. I was mad because I still cried myself to sleep every night, thinking of what that man could have done to me and I would never know. I was angry with myself for not being the fighter I knew everyone wanted and expected me to be. But mostly I was mad because I was reckless. I was careless and it got me taken. Everything that had happened so far was because of me and my stupid decisions.

"Hans, Jack wants to talk to you. Are you up for that?" Aaron said, returning to the phone. I reached over to the bedside table and pulled some tissues out of a box and blotted at my eyes.

"Yeah." I said, then cursed myself for still crying. I took a deep breath, cleared my throat and tried again. "Yeah." I said, sounding much more certain. "Give him the phone." There was silence, then I heard someone breathing again. "Is that my little dude?" I asked, trying to sound joyful.

"Hannah!" Jack giggled. "I told you I'm not little!" But he went on laughing, bringing the first smile to my face since I woke up a week ago.

"I know, I know, but you'll always be my little dude. Even when you're a thousand bazillion years old." I said, using the 'number' Jack always used when he was over exaggerating.

"Hannah, that's not a number!" He said, another fit of giggles bursting out of him. "Hey Hannah, when are ya gonna come home with me and Daddy?" He asked, his familiar joy and laughter ceasing. "I miss you a bunch and every time I ask Daddy, he says you're too sick for even me to visit." He said, jumbling his sentence phrasing, then getting frustrated. "Is he exasperating?" He asked, and I laughed.

"Do you mean exaggerating, baby?" I asked, knowing Jack liked to use the 'big people words' that Aaron and I used.

"Yeah, that." I shook my head, though I knew he couldn't see me.

"No, honey. Daddy's not exaggerating." I said, throat closing up again. "But I tell you what. Tomorrow's Saturday and I know Daddy isn't busy." I said, trying to get off the phone. "You guys and the team can come visit tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay!" He said, not noticing the catch in my throat as I said 'okay' "I love you Hannah!" I smiled as tears welled up in my eyes.

"I love you too my little dude." I heard him hand the phone back to Aaron and I sighed. "Aaron, please let him come tomorrow. I need to at least be around people I know and love, and that includes you." I said, then felt a bit awkward. Aaron and I were close, but we never crossed that line. Those words were never used, not in a romantic sense or any other sense really. It was just something we didn't say, although I supposed it was true. I loved Aaron like I loved Matt. He was family, he was my brother. But it still felt weird to say. Saying it, no matter how true it was, made it real. It made him another thing I could lose, another thing I could have taken from me.

"We'll see." He said, then sighed. "I'll call everyone else and let them know. Hannah, are you sure you're up for it?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes, feeling more like myself than I had all week.

"I'm sure Aaron." I said. "I want to see you guys. If I can't leave, I want you guys to visit."

"Okay." He said, and I expected him to hang up. That was normally how our conversations ended. There was no goodbye- we stopped saying goodbye after Julie's death. Goodbye seemed too permanent. So normally, one of us just hung up. Only this time he didn't.

AARON:

"Okay." I said. I went to hang up, but something stopped me. "Hannah?" I asked, putting the phone to my ear again.

"Yeah?" She asked, still sounding fragile and small.

"I-" I wasn't sure what else I wanted to say. I knew there was something, but I couldn't place it. "Never mind. Try and sleep okay?" She hummed in response, but I know she wouldn't. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya tomorrow." She mumbled. "G'night."

"Night." And the phone clicked off. I placed it on the counter and ran a hand over my face. I heard the light pitter patter of Jack's steps and looked up. "Hey bud." I said and walked over to him. "Still can't sleep?" He shook his head and yawned.

"No." I picked him up and held him. "Hey Daddy?" I hummed in response. "Is Hannah gonna be okay?" I flipped the kitchen light out and started down the hall to Jack's room.

"Yeah buddy. She's gonna be just fine." I promised as I laid him back down in bed. "Why?"

"I was just wonderin'. I really like Hannah." He said as he crawled under the covers. "I think you should marry Hannah." That took me for surprise.

"And why do you say that kiddo?" I asked, curious as to where he got the idea. Hannah and I certainly weren't together in that way, although she had been around Jack quite a bit since Haley died. Hannah was one of the only people I could really talk to like I could with Haley. Maybe that's why he thought that- because I talked with her like I did with his mom. "You do know what that would mean right?"

"Yeah." He said and looked up and me. "That would mean Hannah is my new mom." He seemed to ponder that a bit. "Yeah, that's fine with me. Hannah is cool and nice and I like her more than that babysitter you always call." I chuckled. Jack never liked his sitter, Jessica, as much as Hannah and had told her that more than once.

"Well sorry bud, but I don't think I'm going to be marrying Hannah anytime soon." I said and finished tucking him in.

"Well that sucks, 'cause I think you like Hannah a lot."

"Well, I do like Hannah a lot," I agreed, trying to think of a way I could explain the difference. "But I don't _love _Hannah." I said, although as I said it- I wasn't quite sure it was true.

"Still." Jack yawned and rolled over. "Night Daddy."

"Night kiddo." I muttered and closed the door, baffled by the conversation and conflicting emotions coursing through me.

**A/N: Okay, so I know it's super short and I'm sorry, but I needed an update. So yeah! Read and review and… whatever else I'm forgetting!**


	5. The Last Days

** A/N: Okay, so like two chapters before, last chapter got me a follow or a favorite, but no reviews! Review people! I need to know what you think, what you want to happen, etc. Let me know! Anyways… Here's chapter whatever!**

**Chapter Five: The Last Days**

AARON:

Jack didn't mention his proposition the next morning while we were in the car, so I assumed he had forgotten. For that, I was grateful. Hannah was already under a lot of stress, so I didn't really want Jack to just go spouting ideas of marriage to her. Especially not with the whole team there.

"Daddy?" I looked to Jack in my rear-view mirror. "When I see Hannah, am I allowed to hug her?" He asked.

"Maybe." I said, uneasy. Hannah had been so weak the last time I saw her. Even last night on the phone, I could tell she had been exhausted. It worried me to see her like this. The doctor's weren't sure why she was so sick, only that she was. They still weren't able to tell what gas had been used in the hallways of that hospital, so they had no idea if that had anything to do with it or not. Her symptoms had gotten worse. It began with an irritation in her throat that had grown to violent coughing fits. She had waves of nausea to start with, but now she had thrown up more than once. Her stomach hurt all the time and she had horrible headaches. My hands gripped the wheel tighter. "We have to be gentle with Hannah right now." I reminded him. "She's very sick."

"Like that one time I had to stay home from school because I was sick?" He asked, looking at the hospital as we pulled up.

"It's a little worse than that kiddo." I unlocked the door and let Jack jump out. "But it's going to be fine, because Hannah has a lot of doctors making sure she feels better."

"Okay!" He was bouncing with excitement as we rode the elevator up to Hannah's room. The doors opened and he bounded down the hallway.

"Jack!" I called after him. He stopped and turned back to me. "It's this way." I smiled as he ran in the opposite direction, barely stopping to let me catch up and take him to the right room.

When we walked in, we were greeted by seven smiling faces. Hannah's bed was surrounded by flowers and colorful cards the team had brought. JJ was sitting in a chair next to her bed, talking about some show they both watched. Reid sat on the couch by the window reading a few books, Rossi had finally come to see her since she woke up and was standing in the corner. Derek and Penelope were laughing with Emily and Hannah just seemed to be happy to have people here. She also seemed to feel better, although that could be the full face of makeup she had seemed to apply before I got there. Jack grinned as Hannah caught his eye.

"My little dude!" She burst, holding her arms out. Jack looked to me for an answer and I nodded, giving him the go ahead to run to her. He ran forward and crawled onto the bed before wrapping his arms around her neck and squeezing. "I missed you!" She said pulling back.

"Hannah," Jack started seriously. "I've told you a thousand bazillion times…"

"I'm not little!" Hannah and Jack finished at the same time, getting a chorus of laughter from around the room. "I know kiddo, but you'll always be my little dude. Even when you're a million." They had the same conversation every time. Jack insisted he wasn't little and Hannah said he would always be her little dude. "So tell me, how has school been?" She asked and then Jack was talking a thousand miles an hour.

"And then this guy-" Jack stopped talking and we all looked at him. "Hannah?" My eyes went to her and I jumped into motion. Hannah's face was drained of blood and she had her eyes closed. I rushed over to her side and went to pick up Jack, but he struggled against me, clearly wanting to stay with his favorite person. "Are you okay?" She opened her eyes and tried her best to smile.

"Yeah baby, I'm gonna be alright." She choked out. "Tell me, Jack. Do you remember a couple weeks ago when you were really sick and Daddy had to take care of you?" Hannah asked and Jack nodded, seeming worried and frightened. "Well that's what's happening to me right now. So how about you have someone take you to the cafeteria and you can get an ice cream, yeah?" She smiled again and nodded. "Then when you come back, I'll be all better and you can finish your story, okay?" Jack nodded, still very scared for Hannah. He let me pick him up off her bed and place him on the ground. He walked behind me and hid. "It's okay little man. I'm gonna be alright."

"Promise?" He asked, peeking out.

"I promise." She said, and JJ stepped up to take Jack out. I mouthed a thank you as she took his hand was walked out. Shortly after they left, Derek, Penelope, Rossi, Emily, and Reid followed suit. The moment they were gone, Hannah collapsed back into her pillow. "Aaron, something's wrong." She muttered and closed her eyes again.

"What do you need?" I asked as I moved towards her. I sat on the edge of her bed and slid my hand into hers. Her color wasn't returning, and she hadn't opened her eyes. "The doctor? A cup of water?" I asked, hoping to get a response.

"The trashcan." She muttered. When I didn't move, she said it again. "Get the trashcan Aaron!" I lunged into motion, grabbing the wastebasket from beside her bed and putting it in front of her just in time. She flew forward and vomited, gagging multiple times before she stopped and groaned. "Get the doctor."

"What's wrong?" I asked, starting to panic. "Hannah!"

"Aaron, _get the doctors_." She said, still calm.

_"_Hannah, _why?"_ I demanded, not actually wanting to know the answer. Hannah looked up at me and that's when I saw the ring of crimson when she spoke.

"Because I just threw up blood."

HANNAH:

It had happened before. My throwing up blood. It had happened for about two days, it's part of what's was making me so sick, but I didn't want to tell anyone. Especially because there is no known cure for hemoptysis paired with everything else. Either it runs its course through your system, or you die. There's no in-between. The doctors were hopeful, seeing as how I had made it this far, but I wasn't stupid. The chances of me surviving were slim and I didn't want anyone to freak out and cry. Today was supposed to be a happy day- the last happy day before I told everyone. That was why I needed Jack out of the room when I got sick. I didn't want to ruin his last happy day with me.

"Hannah, _why?_" Aaron asked, the panic clear in his voice. I looked up and met a pair of very scared brown eyes with my calm blue ones.

"Because I just threw up blood." I said, and he was out the door before I could say anything else. Before he was able to come back, I felt myself about to get sick again. I heaved forward and retched, throwing up blood for a second time that day. The doctors rushed in and started my medications back up, trying to calm me down as I threw up again. When I looked up, Aaron stood in the doorway of my room, looking horrified and like he was going to vomit. His eyes met mine and they held only sorrow. He had figured me out. He knew I was getting sicker and sicker by the day. He knew it was only a matter of time now. I went to say something, but before I could, Aaron turned on his heel and ran.

THIRD PERSON:

Dr. Spencer Reid hated hospitals. He had since he had to put his mother in one when he was fifteen. That was a very different type of hospital of course, but it was a hospital none the less. He had been coming back from the cafeteria with a cup of coffee in his hand when he saw a group of doctors rush to Hannah's room. He had spent enough time in a hospital to know that was never good. Just as they rushed in, another person rushed out. The only person that had been left was Hotch. Reid trashed his coffee and hurried forward, concerned for his superior and team mate. Hannah had been very sick when he left, they all knew that. She had been hiding something, a big something and he had a feeling that was about to be revealed.

"Hotch?" He called, but he got no response. Turning away, he looked into Hannah's room where the young blonde girl seemed to be vomiting repeatedly into a wastebasket. When he people around her shifted just right, he could see her. Hannah's hair had fallen from its ponytail, so a nurse was holding it back. Her eyes were wet with tears. She was afraid. He had known she was afraid for a while now. Hannah had called him one night the past week and they stayed up for hours talking. Hannah and Spencer were the two youngest on the team. They had both joined the BAU at young ages, having graduated from school early. Hannah had finished high school at a normal rate, but surpassed her peers in college. She graduated in four years, having majored in criminal justice. She was recruited when she was twenty six, four years older than Reid had been. She was twenty eight now, and Reid was thirty. That made her the youngest on the team, though Reid normally got the butt of the jokes. "Hannah." He rasped, feeling his throat close. A nurse turned around at the sound of his voice.

"Sir, you can't be in here right now." She said, then turned back to his friend.

"Spencer?" Hannah called, her voice thick with emotion.

"Hannah, you need to sit back and relax okay? We're going to figure out what's going on." A doctor was saying. Reid was cataloguing her injuries and symptoms as they spoke. The coughing fits, the chest pain, the sore throat- it all made sense now. There had been a gas in the building, she had said that in her statement. It made her eyes itch and skin feel like it was burning. That, with the previous symptoms and now the hemoptysis, everything was clicking.

"It's chlorine gas." He said to himself. "It's chlorine gas!" He repeated, louder. A doctor stopped and looked to him.

"Who are you?" The doctor asked, waking towards him.

"Dr. Spencer Reid. I work with the Behavioral Analysis Unit." He said, not looking at him. His focus was on Hannah right now.

"Well Dr. Reid, I do believe you just saved this girls life."

** A/N: Alright, I know. Super short chapter, but I needed an update. SO, that means I'll make sure the next one is super long. Read and review! Thanks!**


	6. The Road to Recovery

**A/N: Please don't shoot me! I know it's been a while but schools been crazy hectic. Anyways, that's all I have to say. Read and Review!**

** Chapter Six: The Road to Recovery**

HANNAH:

The recovery process is never short. Whether it's heartbreak, loss, anything- that process is going to be long. The symptoms will follow you and linger until one day…Poof. It's like they were never there. You have the memories, of course, but physically… nothing.

When the doctor's came in and told me what was happening, I realized just how long my recovery was going to be. They could remove the toxins running through me, but they could never remove the memories. Part of me wished I would have died, but the other part- that part felt hope for the first time in so long. I had forgotten what hope felt like.

Aaron took Jack home. Rossi and Emily sat with me for an hour before they left too. Derek, then Penelope… Everyone left me one by one. Everyone except Spencer.

"Hannah?" I looked up from the book I was reading and smiled weakly.

"Hey, kid." Spencer smiled back and entered. I looked over at the clock, knowing it was late. "Shouldn't you be at home?"

"I'm two years older than you and you still call me 'kid'" He remarked and sat down in a chair across from me. "I couldn't sleep." I closed the book and turned on my side to face him. "How are you feeling?"

"You saved my life Spencer." I reminded him. "If you hadn't figured out what was wrong with me…" I trailed off, not sure what to say. How do you thank someone for saving your life? How do you explain the thought process? There was no way. I shook my head and started over. "Today was supposed to be the last day of my life." I said cautiously. "I had come to terms with that. I had everyone come as a form of goodbye- one last hurrah." He looked at me blankly, but I knew he understood. Spencer always understood. "One final happy day." I took a deep breath. "So when I got sick again, I knew it was over. I was prepared to go." I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I mentioned it. The truth is, I wasn't ready. I was so scared in that moment and my only thought was '_I'm not ready. I don't want to go.' _"And then you shouted out the one thing no one knew."

"Hannah-" He started but I cut him off.

"No." I wiped my eyes and continued. "If you hadn't figured that out, I would be laying in the morgue right now. The toxins would have killed me." I smiled and the tears rolled down my face. "_Thank you._" There was no way I could accurately describe how much I was indebted to him. Even now, I can't pay him back. We all endlessly teased him for being the genius and how young and scrawny he is, but in reality- without Dr. Spencer Reid, most of us wouldn't be alive. And he had to know that, but Spencer just nodded, wordlessly.

We sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity, only interrupted when a nurse came in and said visiting hours were over. She left, and he prepared to leave. Before he opened the door, I stopped him. "Spence?" He turned, eyebrows raised. "You know I love you, right?" He nodded, a small smile coming across his face.

"Yeah. I love you too." I smiled, and he closed the door behind him. Content with how things were finally turning out for me, I turned on my side, letting myself drift off to sleep.

~0~

The next morning, the smell of coffee and blueberry muffins woke me, setting in the comforting haze of mornings I hadn't felt in over a month. As I slowly came to my senses, another smell came forward, and I smiled sleepily. "Aaron?" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and reached for my glasses.

"Morning, Hans." He came and sat beside me, handing me the paper cup of coffee. "I know your appetite has been off since you woke up," He paused, looking down. "And now we all know why, but I figured maybe you'd want something to eat." I smiled, taking the cup from him.

"Thank you, Aaron." He nodded as I scooted over. "Come here, sit." He lay down beside me, sighing.

"Do you know how scared I was yesterday?" He said after a moment of silence. "You can't do that anymore, Hannah." I nodded, even though his eyes were still closed.

"I'm sorry." I reached down and slid my hand into his. "I was prepared to go, though. Everyone would've been fine. You have Jac-"

"Exactly, Hannah. I have Jack. And did you even think for a moment what he would have had to go through if Reid didn't figure this out in time?" I stopped as I was about to respond. I hadn't thought about Jack, I hadn't thought about anyone, really. I wasn't thinking at all, I just assumed that hope was lost and I was going to die. "After Hayley," He stopped, turning towards me. "After Hayley, you were here for me. You were here when she died; you were here before she died." I nodded.

"You stayed with me when she left to live with her sister." Aaron nodded. "You said the house felt too empty without them there."

"So did you even think for a moment- did you even stop to think about the fact that you would have left us alone?" I couldn't meet his eyes. "You can't do that again, Hannah." I took his coffee cup out of his hand and placed it next to mine before I turned towards him on my side.

"Thank you for breakfast." He smiled, moving a strand of hair from my face.

"Thank you for not dying."

"I'm sorry I almost did."

"Yeah, that part is not okay." I laughed, and we both grabbed a muffin. "Doctors said you can go home in a few days." I nodded around a bite of muffin.

"Yup." I smiled. "Then I can go back to work the day after that, as long as I keep taking the anti-toxins as prescribed." Aaron frowned.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?" I nodded.

"I'm just ready to catch this bastard."

**A/N: Again, I'm the worst author in the world. But, I have started a Tumblr for my FanFiction account, so go check that out if you've got time! I'll be posting about chapter updates, new projects I'm starting on and of course, I'll have an ask page open so you guys can ask me anything on there. So go look at it at jeffersonauthor/tumblr/com. Thanks for being so amazing and sticking by me. I love you guys!**


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